Update on an earlier post
10
December 2013
Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media and Communications
Office
His Grace Bishop Angaelos,
General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom testified at
a Congressional Hearing on ‘Human Rights Abuses in Egypt’ in Washington DC on
Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013.
Addressing the
congressional panel with four other witnesses, during a Joint
Subcommittee Hearing comprised of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,
Global Human Rights, and International Organisations, and the Subcommittee on
the Middle East and North Africa, Bishop Angaelos underlined the nature and
unprecedented level of violence and attacks against minority groups in Egypt
pre and post 2011 uprising.
Highlighting a number of
incidents occurring in recent months and years, he spoke of the increased
incitement that led to the burning, demolition, and attacks on scores of
churches, the kidnapping of Christian girls, restrictions on the choice or
expression of faith, and the increasing violent attacks resulting in loss of
life, and the displacement and destruction of property over decades.
Speaking on behalf of all
minorities Bishop Angaelos said:
“I do not only speak as a Christian, because that would be very
un-Christian of me. We speak as Christians for everyone, and our view of human
rights is for a human rights perspective that covers every person.”
Saying the following
regarding the political situation in Egypt:
“What we need to address at the moment are issues of illiteracy
and poverty that make constituents vulnerable when they vote and are
manipulated, either financially, or in terms of ideology, and of course
religion becomes a part of that. What we also need is foreign investment and
tourism to bolster the economy and enable people to sustain their families and
communities.”
In conclusion, Bishop
Angaelos spoke of Christians in Egypt as those who remain loyal to, and take
pride in, their indigenous homeland despite the various challenges faced,
saying:
“We speak as Christians with hope, and we have faced persecution
far greater than this. We are still there as the largest Christian denomination
in the Middle East and as the last actual bastion of Christian presence in the
region.”
Shortly after the hearing,
and in commenting further on the state of minorities in Egypt, Bishop Angaelos
said:
“While we do not seek to place blame on the current leadership, it
is evident that over the past decades there has been little done to ensure that
these violent acts do not reoccur. Since the uprising, and due to a decrease in
law and order resulting from the turbulent period under the rule of Mr Mohammed
Morsi, there have been increasing challenges facing Christian and minority
groups in Egypt. Having said that, and in looking to the future, we continue to
support the current process of rebuilding Egypt with a new constitution and
ethos, and support the whole community as it calls for change.
We pray, that with the good intention of all to move past these
challenging times in Egypt’s history, the implementation of equality before the
law will ensure that Egypt becomes a better place for all citizens on the basis
that they are Egyptian before anything else, whether they are the numeric
majority or minority, man or woman, young or old, secular or religious, Bahá’i,
Christian or Muslim.”
Testifying alongside
Bishop Angaelos, Mr Samuel Tadros, Research Fellow at Hudson Institute’s Centre
for Religious Freedom presented a number of solutions to address the situation
in Egypt, saying:
“In order to prevent recurring attacks there must be a process put
in place to identify the most vulnerable villages in Egypt that are likely to
experience attacks. The Egyptian government should be urged to implement this
and the United States may be able to provide resources to help with that
process. The Egyptian police also need a security protocol to deal with mob
violence and should establish a crisis office within the Egyptian presidency to
deal specifically with that issue, as well as the development of a rapid
response unit. We also need reform in the legal system, and localised reward
and punishment system.”
Other witnesses included:
Zuhdi
Jasser, M.D. Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Morad
Abou-Sabe, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University
Mr. Tad Stahnke, Director of Policy and Programs, Human Rights First
View this Press Release
online via www.CopticMediaUK.com
Resources:
- Watch the
Hearing here: http://1.usa.gov/18P78qK
- Transcript
and Copy of Testimony submitted to Congress available upon request. - Statement by
Bishop Angaelos, highlighting the increasing incitement and violence
threatening and claiming the lives of Christians in Egypt. http://bit.ly/1cn7eBf